Out To Dinner With Just 'Mama'

Nastia was asking for some 'alone time', so D and I went out to dinner alone. She entertained me the whole time, creating different characters and acting them out. She borrowed my glasses for the first shot, and then asked to pose with the giant butter knife, then wanted one of her eating...it was just an hour of hilarity. She is quite the comedian.

Questions Answered

Our girl D loves loves loves walking the dogs. It's our twice daily ritual and she gets very excited about it every time. She is so proud to hold the leash, and takes her job very seriously.

I'm just going to cut & paste the answers to our recent update to the host agency below. It is a weekly requirement, and I'm so glad it is. It gives me the chance to reflect on what we're all learning on this adventure. Here are the questions and my answers, followed by the answers to a few questions that readers posted recently. 

Hosting Update on D

Please describe how your host child reacted to you upon arrival.

Scared and a bit sad, but it sure dissipated quickly!

Please describe how your host child's personality has evolved or come out over the past week.

D is quite dramatic and intense. Luckily, this is exactly what I expected, given the info NHFC gave about her. She is incredibly intelligent, creative, imaginative, stubborn, independent, super loving, and has a VERY positive outlook on life.

Briefly describe the host child's interaction with family. Who is the child most comfortable with and who does the child not seem comfortable with at this time?

D acclimated to us very quickly. She was very scared at first and attached to my daughter initially since she speaks fluent Russian and mine is less perfect. She was sad for the 20 minute ride home fom the airport and clung to her new baby doll. However, once home, she came to life. She wanted to see and do everything. She is equally affectionate with both my daughter and me, and ADORES all the animals. She has been very shy meeting new people and clings to us for the first 15-20 minutes, and then starts to warm up to others. She is drawn more easily to people like herself - outgoing and animated. She is VERY talkative...as in non-stop! I could write a book about her already - she is a sweet sweet girl with alot to say!

Briefly describe the host child's interaction with people who are not family members.

As mentioned above...it takes her a bit of time to warm up to others. When a few people have stopped by unannounced, D goes to hold my hand or Nastia's hand and gets very quiet. But if someone stays around for more than 20 minutes, she starts to open up.

What has been the most challenging part of the visit so far?

D is very stubborn and likes to get her own way. Luckily, I parent a daughter who is cut from the same cloth! D also sleeps very little, but I'm guessing that will even out as the week proceeds.

Mark any behaviors you have noted.

(I marked Hyperactive...though this is likely just her excitement at the new experience.)

If you marked any behaviors above, how were these problems addressed or handled?

D is high energy and needs/wants to be engaged and busy at all times. We are slowly teaching her about 'rest time' and that each day has a 'busy' part AND a 'quiet' part. She is adapting. D is also incredibly strong-willed, but also responds very well to direction. I do not need to ask her more than 2-3 times to change her behavior even in the worst cases. She WANTS to please and is VERY intelligent. She can get a bit whiny, but some of this is obvious regressive behavior because she wants to be 'babied' a bit. She is just a wonderful little girl, so full of life and SO positive. 

Briefly describe any health concerns or problems you have dealt with or realized this week. How did you handle this if needed?

Came with a cold & cough..sniffles, lots of nose-blowing, but otherwise incredibly healthy and full of energy. We are feeding her an incredibly healthy diet  -- all organic fruits, veggies and meats, along with organic children's vitamins, so I'm sure the cold will resolve itself soon. She has QUITE the appetite and loves to try EVERYTHING! she has not been picky about food at all.

Briefly describe things your host child likes (routines, activities, interactions, things)

Where do I begin? D ADORES pretend play. It is definitely her favorite activity. She wants to play doctor/hospital nearly every day, where my daughter and I are the patients. She tells me I have been 'poisoned' and she must bring me back to life. I am treated to band-aid care and tic-tac medicine, and temp is taken every 3 minutes..lol. Loves playing that she is a baby, and loves pretending to be an adult 'at the office' where she fills out forms, staples and tapes things, types on the computer, etc..all while wearing high heels. Also LOVES swimming, and cooking and, well, just about EVERYTHING except television (thanks be to God!) and sleeping. Also adores the animals and has lengthy conversations with them.

Briefly describe anything your host child dislikes or is afraid of:

Not much! Doesn't like bedtime...but loves the rituals leading up to it: bath, teeth brushing, story time, prayers, etc. She is fearless, so I'll be surprised to see if there is anything she is afraid of as the month progresses.

Briefly describe a favorite moment or realization between your family and your host child.

Watching D and my daughter walk hand in hand in the woods, up to the pond near our house. They just adore one another and it almost makes me cry to see the enjoyment they get out of one another. A match made in heaven, truly. Also LOVE all the funny things she says. I'm fortunate to understand Russian, so she has us both cracking up at least once an hour!

And finally, to answer a few of your questions:

Ashley asked 'Is the doctor's appointment part of the hosting experience? (ie: are the kiddos here partially for medical care?)And on the fun side of things...Tell us more about the D/Nastia connection!

Yes, we are required to partner with a local dentist and eyecare specialist to secure appointments for our host children. These may be the only dentist and eye care appts they have ever had. Our dentist is AMAZING and was DELIGHTED to see D at no cost. And our local Lenscrafters is doing the same thing.

The children are also covered by medical insurance while they are with us, through the hosting organization.  As for Nastia and D, they have a mutual adoration for one another that just delights me. It's been difficult for Nastia to adjust to the demands of a young child, but she is doing really well, and really hopes D will be her 'real sister' some day.

Annie asked  'Our parish sponsored four little boys. One is a little guy that I fell in love with. His name is Davids; he is from Latvia. Is there any way could communicate with the family who is hosting him? Do you have an e-mail list or anything? Do you speak Russian? It sounds like you do - how did you learn it? It was my original major in college (that and Theatre - we have that in common - in fact I acted Shakespeare professionally for a number of years).

 I love hearing of families and churches that sponsor some of these kids -- there is such a huge need! I'll try to locate the family who is hosting him. At the very least I can try to get an update on how he is doing! And yes, I speak Russian. not fluently, but good enough for D to understand me, and I her. I learned some before I adopted Nastia so I could communicate with her, but most of it was learned from 6 trips to Russia, and being forced to learn it or suffer not knowing what my girls were saying to one another! Next to immersion, I think Rosetta Stone is the best program for language learning. I use Rosetta, too, to get more fluent. I'm so happy to know a fellow Shakespeare lover! Where did you perform? Who did you play? so exciting!

Taking Questions!

I am honestly too tired to post much this morning, so I thought I'd 'open up the phonelines' for any questions  you may have about our hosting experience. One of the reasons I chose to blog about our hosting experience is so that other families might consider hosting. NHFC  gave me permission to blog, and I will do my best to be as honest as possible about the experience. 

Tonight when D goes to bed, I will answer your questions. Today we are off to  doctor appointments, which D is excited about, believe it or not. Nastia and I have been forced encouraged to play doctor/hospital for 2 days straight. D is the doctor and we are her very ill patients. What Dr D subjected her patients to this morning might be considered snake-oil medicine, but she gets extra points for diligence and attentiveness. She would race from one 'hospital room' to the other, asking us countless questions and filling us with medicine (tic-tacs.) By the end of the hospital stay, she had used a whole container of bandaids, a bag ofcotton balls, a container of tic-tacs and an entire tube of hand lotion.

'What seems to be your problem, Lady?' She asked me in Russian. As I answered, she nodded her head and mumbled 'mmmhmm,mmhmm..' while scribbling on a tiny notepad.

'And how long have you had these wrinkles?' she asked, giving a close inspection of my crow's feet.

We are in for a memorable ride, methinks.

Another Amazing Day

We are in love. 

I mean truly, madly deeply in love. 

It is like we have known D forever, and she feels the same way. She fits in our family like a missing puzzle piece, and we so want her to be part of our family forever.  However, it remains to be seen if that is God's plan. Through Anya I have learned to trust more, and I am trusting that D will end up where she is meant to be -- even if, in the end, it's not with us.

Today I was wakened at 3:50am. 'Mama! Dobre Utre!' she squealed about an inch from my face.

Well, it wasn't actually morning, but I couldnt convince her of that. She was ready for the day ahead! Try as I might to get her to sleep a bit more, it was not to be, and so we walked the dogs, and played on the trampoline....and when light finally arrived, we went to the beach and built sandcastles, ran in the waves. Later we played on the swings, and wrote letters and words in the sand. She surprised me by knowing how to write her name in cursive! No small feat in Russian! She wrote MAMA DASHA NASTIA HOME in the sand (in Russian) and spelled each word correctly.  THis sweetheart is so wanting a family, and I can only pray it might be with us. I've heard conflictiung things about Ukraine adoption - singles cannot adopt; singles can adopt in certain circumstances. Just need to wait and hear what the truth is.

At the beach,  she begged me to go on the tunnel slide with her, and when I almost got stuck, she laughed and laughed until she fell into a coughing fit.

Once we drove home, it was back to the trampoline and then breakfast. I was doing my best to keep her from Nastia so at least one of us would have a good night's sleep. I managed to keep busy until 10am, but then we needed to get ready for church. we headed out the door early, and I was excited to introduce her to everyonebefore the service so she would be more comfortable. but, lo and behold, the summer hours for church started this week, but they hadn't posted it on the website. We were late! So we stayed to talk to Jack W and met a nice fellow homeschooling family, too.  

There is so much more to write about what we did and the absolutely adorable  things she said, but I am still running on a handful of hours sleep and need to crash. I'll leave you with photos of the end of our night...a walk to the pond at dusk, where Nast & D fed and watched the ducks and turtles. It was a magical night.

Correction: SLEEP is All You Need...lol

Forgive any inevitable typos. I'm still working off of 4 hours sleep (if that) and we just got Dasha to bed. Phew!

I didn't anticipate how difficult it would be to blog every day. She is non-stop motion, and so I have no time to sit at the computer...or even use the bathroom! If I am away from her for more than 30 seconds I hear (in Russian) 'Mama! Where are you?' 

I will try to record today, although I really just want to climb into bed. Nastia is already there, waiting for me!

So, after her gargantuan breakfast this morning, Dasha played in the yard with us, and then we took the dogs for a long walk in the woods, up to the turtle pond. (Dasha insisted on holding both leashes.) We then stopped at the playground and played on the swings, and then headed to town, as we need to buy just a few quick things at Crosby's. 

Well, Crosby's (our local supermarket) may as well have been Disneyworld, as far as Dasha was concerned. She had her own little cart and she kissed each food item before she placing it in the cart. She confidently maneuvered down the aisles, saying 'excuse me' (in Russian) to anyone she bumped into. Nastia and I looked away for all of 10 seconds where the frozen food meets the packaged meat aisle, when we realized Dasha had placed 3 family-sized packages of sausages in her cart. When she saw we noticed, she gave us this big toothy grin and shrugged her shoulders, as if to say 'beats me how they got there!'  She then asked the deli man for a sample of ham (in Russian), and then thanked him (in English) when he complied. 

After dropping off the groceries at home, we headed over to spend a little time at our friends, the Littles. They have a pool and Dasha must have jumped in over a hundred times. Finally, after hours, she got tired and ended up like this:

Then we headed home because I had a really important reunion I needed to attend. But it was not to be. Dasha finally crashed, and so I had to stay home for our sleepy girl. She awoke about 6pm, hungry, and after eating, called her friend Vladik, who is staying with my new friends, The Kearneys, in Central CT. If I get any energy later, I will record what Dasha said to him on her 20 minute phone call. It was a riot. Finally, it was bath and bedtime, and she is now sound asleep in Nastia's bed, clutching her baby doll. So sweet.

Well, sorry I'm not more articulate tonight! Sleep deprivation has rendered me incoherent. Night all. Hope your day was even 1/10th as wonderful as mine.

Happy Girl!

Up after only four hours of sleep. For breakfast, she had 3 fried eggs, a banana, a very large peach, and a plate of strawberries. Then off to the trampoline! How will I EVER keep up..lol?

Love Is All You Need

Where do I begin? How do I possibly share with you the magic of last night?

Dasha's plane was delayed, so we spent a good two hours waiting at Logan Terminal A baggage claim with the other families. At one point one of the dads turned to me and said -- 'it doesnt get any better than this. We will remember this day for the rest of our lives. We will return to it over and over again. THIS is a special day.' And he is so right. When the automatic door opened and Dasha poured out with seven other children and their chaperones, I was completely caught off guard by two things -- her size...and her beauty. This photo does not nearly do her justice:

She was pouty and scared and absolutely refused to release the hand of the older girl she was with. Oksana, the other girl, gently pried her hand open and placed it in Nastia's hand. That is the moment the romance began. Nastia was smitten, and do I mean smitten. We waited to say our goodbyes to the other families, and have our required family photo taken, and then we were off....

On the ride home, Dasha immediately fell fast asleep in her carseat, but every time her head tipped forward, her hat would fall off and wake her. Nastia asked if she could remove it. 'Nyet,' she answered softly, and held her hat tight to her head, dozing off once more.

Once home, Nastia carried the sleeping Dasha into the house, and into her room where we tried to quietly change her for bed. It was not to be...

.

She opened her eyes, glanced around...and got her second wind...

Two hours of American Girl doll and Barbie Bedlam bedlam ensued!

 (To be continued --I'm exhausted!)

Four Hotdogs and a Pint of Strawberries Later...

Don't know if I'll get more than a second to post! Dasha is already running us ragged..lol! Its after midnight and she is jumping on the trampoline with her American Girl doll. Being called! More later!

Only Four Hours Left!

Nastia and I leave for the airport in only four hours! She has been cleaning like a mad-woman since she woke up...and then I checked on Dasha's room, and found she had already gone in and 'tweaked' it a little more: shoes by the bed, photo on the nightstand, new toys she found sitting on the dresser. Even our kitchen has received a visit from Nastia-the-cleaning-fairy. She put on her favorite tablecloth and set out cups and a teapot. So cute...

So, the next time I post here, Dasha will be home! Hope she has an easy transition! I'm praying up a storm!

Please Share

Here is the mini-documentary about Anya & Nastia that was shot at our 
home in March. Please share wherever you can -- here on blogger, 
on facebook, via email. Maybe it will end up in the hands of someone 
who can truly help us to bring Anya home...

Deep Sorrow.....and A Request for Prayers and Light

My heart is in pieces. We phoned Anya last night and I was not prepared for what I heard.  She lost a very close friend to suicide this week, and she is feeling completely hopeless. This is the 2nd friend she has lost this year. (Suicide is pretty common for her age group and background in Kemerovo.) She was crying so hard when I phoned her, she could not speak. It ripped my heart out. 

Then this morning I spoke to the one person I trust to watch over Anya in person, my friend Svetlana. She said Anya was so desperate she was saying she should just do what her friend did - commit suicide. Thank God Svetlana found a way to get to her. I know today that Anya will be safe under Svetlana's care. but all I keep hearing in my mind is Anya's words to me, 'Mama, PLEASE come. Please take me home...' and then the rush of weeping.

For mothers reading this, I don't have to tell you what hell I am in right now. How incapacitated I feel being half a world away from her.  It's almost unbearable, but....as hard as this FOUR YEAR STRUGGLE has been,  I do very much believe in the power of love & prayer. If everyone reading this were to either pray/send light/meditate/chant/ what have you for Anya, I KNOW it will help her. I just need her to stay hopeful and safe until I can find a way to get her here.

I know to some it seems like nothing is getting done, but I do trust that those in power are doing what they can, albeit quietly and slowly. What YOU can do is pray/send light/ send love.

If you want to do more, a kind letter to Senator John Kerry's office will not hurt. A letter reminding him of Anya's situation and pleading for his intervention could not hurt. Phone calls will not help, nor will angry letters. But if you feel so moved to write a letter, here is the address:

Senator John Kerry
One Bowdoin Square
Tenth Floor
Boston MA 02114

Everything you need to know to write the letter is here:

  www.bringanyahome.org

Nastia and I promised Anya we will find a way to get there this summer.I don't care what it takes, we WILL get there. I'll be fundraising via yardsales and such for the next month, while Dasha is here, in hopes of trying to get to Siberia in August to be with Anya. If you have any quick fundraising ideas, please post.

Thank you for your love and support. I am so grateful for it. I feel like I am straddling to distinct worlds -- the world of joy in anticipation of Dasha's arrival, and the Anya's world of loss and sorrow. So glad I can turn to God (LOVE) in both...

Father's Day is Bittersweet

Exactly five years ago tonight I was saying goodbye to my dad. He had been rushed to the hospital in Florida with chest pains, and was told there was nothing they could do. He had survived 3 heart attacks, open heart surgery, bypass surgery, and the whole gamut of heart-related illnesses. But this time his heart was too weak. And with emphysema, it was impossible to operate on him. So, he lay in a hospital bed with two of my brothers at his side, and one of them held the phone up to his ear for me to say my goodbyes and allow him to pass in peace. It was heart-breaking, but I tried to keep it light and funny, for his sake...razzing him about choosing Father's Day, of all days, to die on. I told him I loved him, told him it was ok to go, and told him we would be ok, because we knew we would see him again. That was it. He passed  just a few minutes after my mom, my brother Jim and I said our goodbyes. 9:34pm Father's Day, 2005.

Nastia never met her father after he was sent to prison when she was just two. We almost did. We invited him to meet us when we flew over to see Anya for the first time, but it proved too overwhelming a task for him. Nast was not particularly upset at the time, but when we got word a year later, in August 2007, that he had died, she wept. 'I never got to meet my father..' she whispered, and then turned away from me to cry.

In the years since both their deaths, Father's Day has become a bittersweet day for us. We take time to talk about our dads, and talk about what they might be doing now, and we talk about seeing them again someday. We look at pictures, we laugh, imagining them together now, meeting as kindred spirits on the other side. 

In some ways, sharing the loss of our fathers has brought us closer together. Losing a dad-- whether he raised you or not -- is a profound loss. No one gets it until they experience it themselves. It's the club no one wants to join.

So, Nastia and I found ourselves a little sensitive and grumpy today. We decided to cheer ourselves up by going to see Toy Story Three. Without giving it away, may I just say do not go to see this movie if you are feeling sensitive and nostalgic? We cried so hard at the end, I thought we'd be kicked out of the theater. But it was a good cry, a needed cry. The kind of cry that connects you to all those deep feelings you try to keep at bay during the daylight hours. It cleansed us. 

And now we're home, looking at pictures of our dads and looking forward to the day when we are in their presence again. Love you both...

(top photo, my dad, Robert Ellis Cahill, in 2005. Next photo, Nastia's dad, Alexander 'Sasha' Poluyanov, in 1991)

Being Honest About the Fear

Lest I lead any readers to think that all this prep time for Dasha is 'peaches and cream' with no effects from nastia's past creeping in, I'm going to come clean. Along with the excitement and anticipation comes great fear for her and lots and lots of memories. I've been clueless the past month....not connecting her recent return to night terrors, baby talk, and clinginess to our upcoming hosting experience. I don't think it's the thought of having to share me, per se, that is scaring her.  I think that Dasha's arrival is reminding her of her transition and her first few months home.

She has woken me up screaming every night this week. Screaming 'MAMA!' at the top of her lungs. She is dreaming of murder and bloodshed and scary men and being separated from me. Returning dreams of orphanage staff and being abandoned. The reason I share this is because I think many parents make the mistake of thinking this is a bad thing. I know it's not. Nastia is still healing. She will likely always be healing. It may seem unfair to put her through the experience of hosting, knowing it will bring up these issues, but I know better. After five years of dealing with RAD and PTSD, I know that I am helping her learn to deal with and move healthily past her fear through these experiences. 

When she was a young child and had nightmares, there was no one to comfort her. Now there is. When she wakes up screaming for me, I am right there to hold her and comfort and remind her that everything is alright. She is dreaming. It's not real -- anymore, anyway. She is learning a new way of being and a new way of seeing the world. There is someone there to catch her when she falls now.

Nastia has an incredibly loving heart. It was not 'available for viewing' her first several years home, but now it shows itself quite regularly. She longs to share her life with others, but is still afraid. Children are less intimidating. She can share with them without fear. Having Dasha to shower her love and attention on will be another healing thing. Teaching Dasha about hope will be a great gift she can pass on. Experiencing Dasha's possible fears and 'walls' will help Nastia understand even her own past and fears and 'walls.'

So, I just wanted to touch on that. It has not been all cleaning and prepping and singing here. Nast has not slept alone in weeks. I cannot even go to the grocery store down the street without her in tow. But it's ok. She is just revisiting those early feelings, and she will be the stronger for this. She will grow.

How apropos: Nastia is calling for me right now -- to sit in the bathroom while she showers. She hasn't needed me there for almost 8 months, but here I go.

 I love my girl....

Making a List and Checking it Twice

Nastia has made a "Dasha List". It is a compilation of everything she could think of to do with Dasha while she's here. Nastia has divided it into "musts" and "maybes". If you have any great ideas to add, please post a comment! We want to make this the best 6 weeks of her life!

Musts (according to Nastia)
4th of July picnic and fireworks
a boatride out in the harbor
build a faerie house in the woods
build sandcastles at the beach
teach her to ride a bike
bake a cake and cookies
paint her nails
go camping overnight
go fishing
visit the local apple orchard/berry picking
swimming at the Y
The Willows (local amusement park)
Boston for a day - the Aquarium & Children's Museum
Go out for ice cream
go to build-a-bear (funny this is on the "must" list..lol)
working in the garden, planting
outdoor summer concerts by the water
visit family nearby
make s'mores over the fire in the backyard
go looking for turtles in the pond

Maybes (according to Nastia)
Miniature golf
horseback riding
batting cages
visit Martha's Vineyard or Cape Cod
host a barbecue for friends

Photo: Nastia, looking over a list -- playing Jaquenetta in Love's Labour's Lost about two years ago.

Homestudy? Check!

D, our host child from Ukraine

Well, Nastia and I completed our homestudy for D, our host child, today! It was such an enjoyable experience, because the woman who came to interview us is someone in the community I admire very much. We got to speak in depth about a great many important things, including the urgent need in our state for emergency foster care parents. So I asked her to let me know when the next training starts as Nastia and I would LOVE to do this.

Anyway, nothing left to do in prep for D but to keep praying for her sage arrival and gentle transition into family life, make her a welcome sign and buy some balloons! Hope the next ten days sail by quickly. we are so grateful to be able to care for this little sweetheart for 5 weeks, and shower her with love. Can't wait to see what God has in store. grateful, grateful, grateful!

Nesting

Nastia has a countdown for Dasha's arrival. She doesn't have it written down, she just does the math in her head every hour. Currently we are at 11 days and 3 hours. (Yes, she is that specific.) Nastia has also been in what can only be called a 'nesting' phase these past few weeks. She is doing everything I did in the weeks before I brought her home! Organizing rooms, cleaning closets, tossing junk, washing bed linens, dusting, mopping... you name it! Her piece de resistance is Dasha's room. It is actually Anya's room, but Nast used some toys and stuffed animals to transform it. Here are some photos of her work. She did a GREAT job!

Our Newest Adventure

Meet Dasha! In just 17 days this little sweetheart will be coming to live with us for a month and a half. I had looked into hosting a child the past few summers, but the timing was never right. We were always either just coming back from Russia or just heading over! This time it worked out perfectly. I received an email query from New Horizons for Children, then Nastia and I spoke about it, and the next day we sent a letter of commitment.

For those of you reading this of the Christian persuasion, this program is something you should look into. I am incredibly impressed with their organization. Their training for host families is outstanding, their support network exemplary, and their commitment to these kids nothing short of awe-inspiring. You can visit their website at: 

www.newhorizonsforchildren.org

They also have a facebook page.

Some of you may wonder why we would give up the time, energy and resources to host a child when we are still struggling to bring Nastia's sister home. Well, it has been nearly five years of working to bring Anya home, and my Nastia truly longs for the experience of siblings. We felt that this would not only help Nastia feel hopeful about getting her sister here, and give her something to do in the meantime -- but also it was a way for us to help another child. Why wait till life is perfect? Why not do it now, when life is messy and complicated? We felt in our hearts that hosting was exactly what ALL of us needed, not just Dasha.

I asked permission to post about Dasha and our experiences while she was here, and they wre actually very encouraging about it. As long as I don't give out her last name, birthdate or orphanage, we're free to share about our time with her! She arrives June 25th. Stay posted for lots of photos and anecdotes. We are waiting with baited breath to see this sweet little face in person!

Ahhh, Family

This week I had to attend a mandatory training for a hosting program we are participating in this summer. As it was three hours away in central Connecticut, I took it as an opportunity to spend some time with my cousins, too. Nast and I have not seen Mark & Elizabeth since Captain's funeral. ( 'Captain' is my uncle and godfather, and Mark's father.) Their daughter Marina was only a year old then, and their son Marcus was not even born, We got to reconnect with everyone! Nast was in heaven, holding a baby or toddler every minute. Mark , Elizabeth and I got to talk 'parenting' and all kinds of other things. We had a BLAST and can't wait to go back!
Here is a close-up of Marina: